Tragic Loss of 3 Teens
During the month of January, three teenage girls died due to injuries suffered while skiing. A 16-year-old Indiana girl died after hitting a tree just off a ski slope at Michigan's Treetops Resort on January 10th. She was not wearing a helmet and died of head injuries. A 15-year-old Utah girl died January 14th in a skiing accident at Alta Ski Area. She skied into the trees and fell into a tree well, dying of asphyxiation. She was also without a helmet. And finally, a 16-year-old from Connecticut, died from injuries suffered after crashing into a tree at Sugarloaf/USA last week. The loss of three young women is tragic and unusual - males are far more likely to suffer a fatal ski accident. According to the National Ski Areas Association, during the 2007-08 season, 53 fatalities occurred out of the 60.5 million skier/snowboarder days reported across the country for the season. Forty-four of the fatalities were skiers (38 male, six female) and nine of the fatalities were snowboarders (eight male, one female).